Bank of America picks Dublin for EU hub

Bank of America Corp. has picked Dublin to locate its main European Union hub in preparation for Britain quitting the bloc in 2019.

The bank will move some jobs from London to the Irish capital and other cities across the region, the bank said in a statement Friday. Bank of America already has a fully licensed operation in Dublin.

London has flourished as a hub for global finance in part because firms based in the capital have the right to do business across the 28-nation EU. After the British exit, British banks as well as London-based firms from the U.S., Japan and other non-EU countries stand to lose this “passport” and may need to channel their business through units based in the bloc.

Dublin is a popular destination — along with Frankfurt — for financial-services companies seeking uninterrupted EU access. Dublin provides a low-tax English-speaking location and shares similar laws and regulations to its U.K. neighbor.